Prince William hiring Jason Knauf will 'infuriate' Meghan Markle and Harry
Jason Knauf previously worked as a royal aide at the palacePrince Harry and Meghan Markle will be “infuriated” by Prince William hiring their former royal aide, a commentator has claimed.
Jason Knauf, who sent an internal email in 2018 expressing concern over Meghan’s treatment of palace staff, was recently named CEO of William’s Earthshot Prize.
Jason previously worked for William and wife Kate as the CEO of the couple’s Royal Foundation and as their communications secretary.
He also worked as Prince Harry and Meghan’s press secretary when they were working royals.
Prince William hires Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s former aide Jason Knauf
It was recently announced that the current CEO of The Earthshot Prize – a global environmental award founded by William in 2020 – Hannah Jones will be stepping down from her post in the summer.
Jason joined the organisation straight away and will be taking on her role from the summer.
It is impossible to avoid feeling that this is precisely what William intended.
“As the first CEO, Hannah has built The Prize into a world-class organisation with an incredible team delivering an annual Prize, powering a platform for speeding solutions to scale, and catalysing a movement to encourage young people, spark imaginations and infuse urgent optimism across the world,” Prince William said in a statement.
“As we look ahead to the future of The Prize and the urgent work needed to scale more inspiring solutions to the world’s greatest challenges, I look forward to working with Jason to chart the course for the next five years of the Earthshot Prize and beyond,” he then added.
Hiring of Jason Knauf will ‘infuriate’ Harry and Meghan Markle
Speaking to Fox News Digital, royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams said: “Prince William’s decision to make Jason Knauf, the former private secretary of the Sussexes, the CEO of his most prestigious project will infuriate Harry and Meghan. It is impossible to avoid feeling that this is precisely what William intended.”
“As far as the Sussexes are concerned, [Knauf] undoubtedly has pariah status. [But] William is clearly showing he doesn’t care about what his brother thinks, much less Meghan,” he added.
Jason Knauf and the Meghan ‘bullying’ scandal
Back in 2018, whilst working as an aide for the royal family, Jason raised concerns about Meghan in an email over her alleged treatment of staff.
He claimed that Meghan’s alleged “bullying” behaviour had made two aides quit and “undermined” the confidence of a third.
In 2021, his complaint about the duchess was made public. However, Meghan has always denied accusations of ‘bullying’.
After the allegations emerged, Jason made headlines. Earlier this year, Jason broke his silence on the fallout during an interview with 60 Minutes Australia.
When asked if it was “tough” to have “unwanted public attention” on him, Jason said: “I think it’s tough, but it’s probably quite good. You know someone who has been helping other people through how to deal with the public eye. You probably had to take your own medicine sometimes.”
“You can’t choose just to take the fun stuff in any job. And that applies to the Prince and Princess [of Wales] as well as everyone else working for them. So I wouldn’t change anything,” he then continued.
When asked if he would have done anything differently, he said: “No, it’s not what I would’ve sought, but you know, at the end of the day, you get to do an amazing job. You’ve got to take everything that comes with it.”
Read more: Moment Meghan Markle was ‘told off’ by Queen Elizabeth II over ‘rude’ behaviour towards staff member
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